Freak Out, Let It Go
by Sid and Nancy
Summary: A story of love. He could only dream what he had been missing, until he kissed her that night. Now, only one thing stood in his way. Christopher.


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Title: Freak Out, Let It Go

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Authors: Sid and Nancy

Rating: PG-13

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Summary: A story of love. He could only dream what he had been missing, until he kissed her that night. Now, only one thing stood in his way. Christopher.

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Disclaimer: We DO NOT own Gilmore Girls. We're simply two fans who have very vivid imaginations, and actually do something about it. Amy owns all.

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A/N: Takes place late S2. Post Luke and Lorelai's fight.

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Chapter One - Fear Itself

Luke sighed as he grabbed his duffel bag from the back of his truck. He hadn't meant to stay out of town for a week, but the thought of coming back to Stars Hollow, having to face her after what they had said to each other made his entire being cringe. He hated when they fought. It meant that she would avoid his diner, like she always did after a big blow out, leaving him wondering when she'd finally cave-in. Until then, he'd brood and grump around, speaking to people only when he had to, his gaze constantly shifting to the door each time it jingled hoping it would be her.

He froze briefly when he heard crunching snow under someone's feet and turned, silently praying that is was Lorelai. To say that he was surprised to see Rory standing there would have been an understatement, she was the last person that he thought it would be.

"Hey."

"Rory."

"You're back." She said gesturing towards his truck with her cast encased wrist.

"I'm back."

"You catch anything?"

A small smile curved his lips upward. "Nah. Apparently the fish went fishing also."

"Too bad."

"Yeah, well…" Luke looked down at her wrist guiltily. It hadn't been his fault that she had broken it, but he felt responsible. _He_ had asked Rory to tutor Jess. _He_ had told Lorelai that everything would be alright, and nothing would happen to her daughter. _He_ should have known something like this would happen. Something always happened when Jess was around. His gaze wandered back to her cast. "So, that's the, uh…"

Without realizing it she self consciously tugged at her jacket trying to cover her left hand, and chuckled nervously. "Yeah."

"Does it hurt?" He said as he took a few tentative steps toward her.

She noticed that his eyes had softened and smiled. "No, not really. Just itches a little."

__

That's my Rory. He thought. _Putting on her brave face, when she's clearly in pain._ Luke had known her for years, and not once had she ever been selfish. She had always put other's needs before her own.

"So… You want some coffee?"

Rory smiled and began following him into the diner. "Sure."

Luke turned on the lights and set his things down. "Where's your Mom tonight?" He said without thinking.

"At a party for my Grandpa."

"Oh, sounds nice." It's funny how their conversations always turned to the subject of Lorelai. He hadn't meant to bring her up, it was just habit. He walked behind the counter feeling as if he had sounded a little too over eager and said the first thing that came to mind. "Grab yourself a doughnut."

She complied after he removed the lid off of the tray, and sat down on a stool. "So… Have you heard from him?"

Luke looked at her for a few seconds, not really sure who 'him' was. All of a sudden it clicked. _Jess? She's talking about Jess? I thought for sure that she wouldn't even want to hear his name after the accident._ He saw her look at him expectantly, waiting for an answer. "Oh, no. I talked to his Mom though. He got home Okay."

"Good… That's good."

He nodded and set a full mug in front of her. "Yeah, good."

She took a sip, and set it back down on the counter staring at liquid inside. "Luke?"

"Yeah?"

Her voice dropped down to a whisper and she looked up at him sadly. "It wasn't his fault."

He felt sorry for her. She obviously liked Jess a lot more than she had previously let on, despite her insistence that she was in love with Dean. Luke reached across the counter squeezing her hand gently. "I know it wasn't."

He let go just as a car drove by outside the diner. They both looked out the window, and saw that it was Lorelai's jeep.

Rory saw Luke's entire body tense out of the corner of her eye. His breathing became ragged, almost as if he was hyperventilating. She could see his face contort with sadness as he grumbled something and went into the kitchen.

Tears began forming in the corners of her eyes. She hated when her Mom and Luke were like this. Neither talking to the other, thinking they would never be forgiven. It made both of them so miserable. She hadn't realized until now just how much it effected him, how much he loved Lorelai. She had always known that Lorelai held a special place for him in her heart too, but had never been able to get her to admit it. _Curse my Mother's stubbornness._ She thought as she watched said person climb out of her car and walk into Doose's Market.

Rory sighed and turned back to the counter. She picked up her now luke-warm coffee, and took a sip, noticing for the first time that Luke had left his keys resting in front of her. She knew for a fact that he still hadn't replaced the old lock on the front door, silently hoping that it was the same case in the back. She checked to make sure that Luke was still safely out of hearing range and tip-toed behind the counter to the diner phone. She dialled a number she knew well and waited for someone to pick up.

"Hello, Doose's Market. Taylor speaking, how may I help you?"

"Hey, Taylor. This is Rory."

She could hear him smile through the phone. "Well, hello! What can I do for you today?"

Rory peeked around the corner making sure the coast was still clear. "Actually, I'm at Luke's and he asked me to call and find out if you could possibly send over some coffee grounds? He's almost out, and needs some for the morning rush."

"And how does he expect to pay for this young lady?"

"Well, my Mom's there right?"

"Yes."

"Luke said he'd pay her back if she brought it over, and even give her a free cup to go."

Taylor sighed. "Alright, I'll tell her."

"Thank you Taylor!" She said smiling, and hung up the phone.

Rory giggled quietly and pocketed Luke's keys, heading out the back door, locking it behind her. _I hope this works._

"So? When do you get your cast off?" Luke called from the kitchen, appearing not longer after, with a plate of freshly made eggs. He looked around for the cast adorned Rory, but figured she must have slipped out, due to the sudden bout of grunting and disappearing into the kitchen on Luke's part. _Figures. _Luke thought melodramatically.

Looking up, as the bell jingle above the opening door, he cam eye to eye, with Lorelai.

She broke their gaze, and held out her arm, offering Luke his requested coffee grounds.

"What's this?" He grunted, careful not to make skin contact as he reached out to take Lorelai's offering.

"The coffee you wanted from Doose's. Well… I should go, you can pay me back later." As she spoke, Lorelai realised the grunting thing didn't work for, nearly as well as it did for Luke, so she instead settled for avoidance of eye-contact and non committal sentences.

"I didn't order any coffee."

"Well, Taylor said you wanted some, and that you would pay me back later."

"Well I didn't, but here." He informed her, opening the ancient cash register, and giving Lorelai ten dollars.

"It didn't cost…"

"Forget it."

The pair stood awkwardly. Neither wanting to speak, but neither wanting to be the first to make the move to leave. Lorelai shifted on her feet, nervously.

"Okay, well I should go… Make sure Rory's okay, with the cast and all."

"Sure." Luke grunted simply, watching as Lorelai turned to exit his diner. He started to wonder if things would ever go back to the way they were.

"Shit." Luke heard Lorelai's whispered expletive, above the train of thought that seemed to be constantly rushing through his mind.

"Uh, the door's jammed."


End file.
